PLEASE NOTE:
*
Date sent: Mon, 06 Oct
1997 10:35:04 -0400 (EDT)
From:
Benny J Peiser <B.J.PEISER@livjm.ac.uk
Subject:
Science Team Chosen For DS-1 Mission
To:
cambridge-conference@livjm.ac.uk
Priority: NORMAL
from: Ron Baalke <BAALKE@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov
Douglas Isbell
Headquarters, Washington,
DC
September 29. 1997
(Phone: 202/358-1753)
John Watson
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
(Phone: 818/354-5011)
RELEASE: 97-219
SCIENCE TEAM CHOSEN FOR TECHNOLOGY VALIDATION MISSION TO
EXPLORE AN
ASTEROID AND A COMET
Ten planetary scientists have
been chosen to lead the analysis of
measurements to be made by miniaturized instruments carried
aboard a mission
called Deep Space-1, the first flight in NASA's New Millennium
Program.
Scheduled for launch in July 1998,
Deep Space-1 (DS-1) is intended to
validate advanced instrument and spacecraft systems
technologies required
for low-cost space science missions. The spacecraft will conduct
flybys of
an asteroid, a comet and Mars. DS-1 science investigation
proposals were
evaluated on the basis of their scientific ideas, and the unique
theoretical
and analytical capabilities that they would bring to bear in
meeting the
overall mission objectives and its cost constraints.
The selected scientists are:
Frances Bagenal, University of Colorado, Boulder
Daniel Boice, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX
Daniel Britt, University of Arizona, Tucson
Bonnie Buratti, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, CA
Jurgen Oberst, the German Aerospace Research Establishment (DLR),
Berlin
Tobias Owen, University of Hawaii, Honolulu
Laurence Soderblom, U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, AZ
Alan Stern, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO
Nicolas Thomas, Max-Planck-Institut fur Aeronomie, Lindau,
Germany
David Young, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio
DS-1's primary science goals include
detailed studies of the
characteristics of the solar wind, the stream of charged
particles
emitted by the Sun, and learning more about the physical
properties of the
asteroid McAuliffe (January 1999 flyby) and Comet P/West-
Kohoutek-Ikemura
(June 2000), including the comet's nucleus and its plasma
properties.
The DS-1 spacecraft science instrument
package has two main
components. The Miniature Integrated Camera Spectrometer
(MICAS)
encompasses a camera, an ultraviolet imaging spectrometer and an
infrared imaging spectrometer, all within one 26-pound
(12-kilogram)
package. The Plasma Experiment for Planetary Exploration
(PEPE)
combines multiple instruments into one compact 13-pound
(six-kilogram)
package designed to determine the three-dimensional distribution
of plasma,
or electrically charged particles, over its field of view.
PEPE includes a
very low-power, low-mass micro-calorimeter to help understand
plasma-surface
interactions and a plasma analyzer to identify the individual
molecules and
atoms in the immediate vicinity of the spacecraft that have been
eroded off
the surface of the asteroid and the comet
"NASA could not have selected a
better team of investigators. The
results of the DS-1 investigations will make a significant
contribution to
our understanding of the conditions in the early Solar
System," said Dr.
Robert Nelson, the DS-1 project scientist at NASA's Jet
Propulsion
Laboratory, Pasadena, CA. "We will learn more about
the material from which
planets condensed and life evolved. Ultimately, we will learn
more about
ourselves."
The 12 advanced systems technologies to be
validated by DS-1
include solar electric propulsion, high-power solar concentrator
arrays, autonomous on-board optical navigation, and several
telecommunications and microelectronics devices.
"We are conducting science on
Deep Space-1 in order to demonstrate that
the technologies being tested are compatible with future science-
focused
missions, and to take full advantage of this rare opportunity to
send a
capable spacecraft to such interesting solar system
targets," explained Dr.
Marc Rayman, DS-1 Chief Mission Engineer at JPL.
Further information on DS-1 is
available on the Internet at the
following URL:
The New Millennium Program is
managed by JPL for the NASA Office of
Space Science in Washington, DC. JPL is a division of the
California
Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA.
-end-
*
Date sent: Mon, 06 Oct
1997 09:28:54 -0400 (EDT)
From:
Benny J Peiser <B.J.PEISER@livjm.ac.uk
Subject:
THE FUTURE OF THE CAMBRIDGE-CONFERENCE NETWORK
To:
cambridge-conference@livjm.ac.uk
Priority: NORMAL
"Only a threat from beyond the Earth can unify the
quarrelsome human species" (Arthur A Clarke)
THE FUTURE OF THE CAMBRIDGE-CONFERENCE E-MAIL NETWORK
Earlier this year, I set up an electronic network for people
interested in
the 2nd SIS Cambridge Conference on "Natural Catastrophes
during Bronze Age
Civilisations." The network (which is, incidentally,
independent of any
organisation), was to keep speakers and participants of the
Cambridge
meeting and other interested members up-to-date regarding the
programme, new
research findings and new reports related to the themes of the
conference.
In the meantime, the CC-list has attrackted some 120 members
from 20
countries from around the globe and includes some of the leading
astronomers, Earth scientists, historians, science journalists
and
other people concerned about the hazards from space. In addition
to the
conference topics, many other issues have been addressed on the
CC-list over
the last six or seven months:
* The British School of Neo-Catastrophism
* The Mass Extinctions Debate
* Historical Catastrophism & Civilisation Collapse
* Cometary Impacts and the Origins of Life on Earth
* Assessing the Impact Hazard: How dangerous are NEOs?
* The Implications of Neo-Catastrophism on Science, Philosophy
&
Religion
Three months after the conference took place in sunny
Cambridge, it is now
time to assess whether or not list members wish to continue with
this global
network. I have therefore attached a brief questionnaire below.
Should you wish to fill in this questionnaire, please click on
the
"reply" icon on the tool bar and send the completed
questionnaire to my
PERSONAL e-mail address: b.j.peiser@livjm.ac.uk. I will
inform the list
about the results of this enterprise as soon as possible.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Benny J Peiser
Liverpool John Moores University
School of Human Sciences
Liverpool L3 3AF
United Kingdom
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Do you wish a continuation of the CC-list? yes ( ) no ( )
2. Do you wish to be removed from the CC-list? yes ( ) no ( )
3. The CC-list is NOT an e-mail discussion group but rather a
network for the dissemination of RELEVANT news, research and
scientific information related to the above mentioned topics.
Do you wish that this policy is maintained? yes ( ) no ( )
If not, what changes would you like to suggest?
4. Should you wish to make any further comments about and
suggestions
for the CC-list, please do so below:
Please send completed form to b.j.peiser@livjm.ac.uk